Michelle Xiao

CHICAGO (July 5, 2015) – The U.S. Under-19 Women’s National Team will hold its third training camp of the year when it comes together from July 5-12 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif.

U.S. Soccer is staging U-19 WNT programing this year for the first time since 2004 when the age group switched to Under-20s as FIFA’s world championship moved from a U-19 competition that was staged in 2002 and 2004 to the U-20 Women’s World Cup which has been held in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014.

The reinstitution of the U-19s is a part of an overall increase in programing for the USA’s youth women’s and girls’ national teams which now has teams at the U-14, U-15, U-16, U-17, U-18, U-19, U-20 and U-23 levels.

All the players in this age group are eligible for the team that will attempt to qualify for the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. FIFA has announced that the tournament would be held in Papua New Guinea.

Of the 24 players called up, 15 were born in 1997, and six were born in 1996, which is the age cutoff year for the next U-20 Women’s World Cup. Jitka Klimkova, one of the USA’s Women’s Development Coaches, will head the camp and also called up several younger players, including two born in 1998 and midfielder Brianna Pinto, who was born in 2000, and is a part of the U.S. U-16 Girl’s National Team pool.

CHICAGO (April 6, 2015) – The U.S. Under-19 Women’s National Team will kick of its 2015 programming with a 24-player training camp at the U.S. Soccer National Training Center in Carson, California, running from April 11-18. The event will be held in conjunction with a U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team camp.

This will be U.S. Soccer’s first Under-19 WNT training camp since 2004. The following year the program switched to Under-20s as FIFA’s world championship for this age group moved from a U-19 competition that was staged in 2002 and 2004, to the U-20 Women’s World Cup which has been held in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014.

The reinstitution of the U-19s is a part of an overall increase in programing for the USA’s youth women’s and girls’ national teams which now has teams at the U-14, U-15, U-16, U-17, U-18, U-19, U-20 and U-23 levels.

All the players in this age group are eligible for the team that will attempt to qualify for the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. FIFA recently announced that the tournament would be held in Papua New Guinea. Sixteen of the players called up were born in 1997 and eight were born in 1996, which is the age cutoff year for the next U-20 Women’s World Cup. Of the 24 players called up, 10 are in college and 14 are still playing youth club.

At this camp the U-19 Women’s National Team is being guided by Women’s Development Coach Jitka Klimkova. Her staff will include U.S. Soccer Youth Women’s Technical Director April Heinrichs, as well as Women’s Head Development Coach April Kater and Women’s Development Coaches Mark Carr and Tricia Taliaferro.

CHICAGO (Sept. 29, 2014) – The U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team will begin a new cycle with a training camp running from Oct. 12-19 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California. Head coach Michelle French has called 32 players, nearly all of whom were born in 1996 or 1997. This age group will be focusing on qualifying for the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, which has an age cut-off of players born on or after Jan. 1, 1996.

The lone player born in 1998 is midfielder Mallory Pugh, who was a starter at age 16 during the most recent FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Canada.

Being that the training camp takes place during the college season, there is only one current college player in the group in goalkeeper Rose Chandler, who is red-shirting her freshman year at Penn State. Chandler, as well as defender Kaleigh Riehl and midfielder Taylor Racioppi, were also on the USA’s 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Team that fell in penalty kicks to Korea DPR in the quarterfinal.

CHICAGO (July 14, 2014) – U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team head coach April Heinrichs named a 20-player roster that will travel to Mexico City for an international training camp from July 22-28.

The camp will be the third U-18 WNT event of 2014 after the team first attended the Women’s U-19 La Manga tournament in Spain this past March and also gathered for a domestic training camp at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California, in early May.

The roster is made of players born in 1996 and 1997, many of whom will help form the core of the U-20 Women’s National Team that will attempt to qualify for the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in South Africa.

After the camp in Mexico City, the U-18 WNT will next gather in September for a domestic training camp at the U.S. Soccer National Training Center in Carson, California.

CHICAGO (April 28, 2014) – The U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team will come together for a training camp at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California, running from May 11-18. U.S. Women’s National Teams Technical Director April Heinrichs has called up 24 players for the camp, the second of the year for this age group, which will run concurrently with a U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team camp.

This age group, born mostly in 1996 and 1997 (with one player, forward Madison Haley who was born in 1998) will form the core of the team that will attempt qualify for the 2016 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup in South Africa. The age cut-off year for that tournament is players born on or after Jan. 1, 1996.

The roster includes two college players, Mikaela Harvery of Texas A&M and Rebecca Rasmussen of Georgia, and also features eight starters from the last cycle of U.S. Under-17s in defenders Ellie Jean, Natalie Jacobs and Tegan McGrady, midfielders Dorian Bailey, Marley Canales and Taylor Racioppi and forwards Zoe Redei and Haley.